My Gypsy smells! Need Advice

Hi - Iím Ami and I adopted my first bulldog (actually my first dog ever), Gypsy, on May 11th. This site has been a wealth of information and a great support these past couple weeks, so thank you very much!

Gypsy was found wandering the streets in February so I donít have much information about her background. Here is what I do know, sheís about 4 years old and has had multiple pregnancies because she has excess skin on her belly and her boobies & crotch hang down a bit. Sheís also very red on her underside. Her foster mom gave me chlorhexidine and said I should wipe her down with a diluted solution of water and chlorhexidine. Sheís had a few surgeries since being in rescue, an umbilical hernia, tail amputation and she was spayed.

I have a couple questions that I havenít been able to find any threads about so I figured Iíd jump in and post.

First, Gypsy smells! Iíve read that bulldogs shouldnít be bathed more than a few times a year and Iíve read that people bath them once a week. Iíve given her a bath each of the last two weekends because she smells. Iíve pinpointed the source of the smell to her boobie fold and crotch area. Iím trying to keep that area clean in between baths with a warm washcloth but Iím not using any soap.

Should I use soap and water to clean her underside on a daily basis?

Should I stop with the weekly full baths and just use baby wipes to clean her multiple times a day?

Are regular baby wipes (non-scented with aloe) OK to use?

Should I use a diaper rash cream or a powder on her boobie folds?

Most of the threads Iíve read say the smell usually stems from the food they are eating. I donít believe that this is the case because itís the same smell that comes from what I assume is her masturbating. She lifts her leg and kind of swipes her crotch with her paw. After some swipes, she stops and smells her paw and gets up and moves so she can smell where she was sitting. She mostly does this when she is getting ready to lie down and sleep. Gypsy really has a thing for her own smell!

Do any of your female dogs do this?

Is this normal?

Should I try to stop this behavior?

Just for informational purposes, I feed Gypsy Taste of the Wild (Sierra Mountain Canine Formula Ė purple bag) dry food twice a day which is what her foster mom was feeding her. She also gets Joint Strong, Vertex and Sea Rave with her morning food. She also gets a fruit or veggie snack (green beans, carrots, broccoli or apple) at lunch time so she doesn't beg for my lunch.

Re: My Gypsy smells! Need Advice

Well they shouldn't smell bad that much. We don't bath our bully very much, maybe once a year if that much. Does she shell like fritos? if so she may have a yeast infection. Plus her anal glands may also need to be expressed. Does she scoot her bottom on the ground trying to itch it? That is usually a sign her anal glands needs expressed. You may want to take her to the vet or a groomer to do this for you. You can try some powder on her underside to see if that helps, or some Desitin. Mal-A-Ket wipes also are good to have around and can help with bacteria and yeast. Others will be along to help with the yeast. Rinsing we with a solution of vinegar and water after a bath will help also. I think the mixture is 50/50, but not sure. Someone will be here to give the correct ratio.

Have a Great Bully Day.Member of The Bulldog Club of America, The Bulldog Club of Texas and French Bulldog Club of America.Bully hugs from - BeBe, Hazel, Lucy Lu, JLO, Hillary, Henri & Katie

Re: My Gypsy smells! Need Advice

Add some vinegar to her drinking water, maybe i tablespoon per gallon. You may have to work up to that if she doesn't like the taste at first. If it's yeast, that should help. It will change the Ph of her skin and the yeast won't be able to grow anymore.

Re: My Gypsy smells! Need Advice

My female does not do what you describe so I will say No, I don't think its normal. However, I do not think its unusual for them to want to smell something when there is a bodily odour to it. Since she is 'pawing' at her self I would suggest she is possibly uncomfortable down there and may have a urinary tract infection or something like that. You should definately bring a urine sample to the vet and check that out b/c it can be quite uncomfortable if left untreated. I wouldnt try and stop her from doing before you figure out why she is doing it.

Re: My Gypsy smells! Need Advice

im thinking some sort of yeast infection.. maybe some anti fungal cream... idk if you can put those on them.. i have put hydrocortisone on zeus so if that worked maybe maybe anti fungal cream would work too...

Re: My Gypsy smells! Need Advice

Hey Amy and Gypsie, and welcome to EBN….. I have a walk in shower, and sometimes, usually twice a week, sometimes less, Rocky walks in for a shower, I use Baby Shampoo with lavender on him, he smells terrific after his shower, and is so spunky. I don't have any knowledge of the yeast problems, or the rest of whats going on, I do use Duoxo pads, a form of malyceptic wipes on Rocky Daily, In all the folds of his face, and at least once a week do his ears, now down in them, nor rough to cause skin problems, just wipe the inside of them clean, also in that same area your discussing, don't forget about Gypsies tail pocket, search it on this site, it has to be cleaned to, and builds a heck of a smell, I use the Duoxo pads for this area too, The pads have a citrus smell, and are anti bacterial wipes. My vet tried to sell me Malkai wipes, very expensive, and after finding this forum, found the generic for them, also I seen a post by Desertskybulldogs the other day, of a liquid you could buy from Amazon, mix with water in a gallon jug, and anything you dipped into that solution became malakai wipes, at way less the expense, so next go around, I'm likely to do that, save more money for toys ya know… Sorry I don't know much about the yeast and other smells your smelling, but I will say something about the lavender smell in the babes shampoo drives Rocky crazy, he loves the smell and so do i, It works out really well for us. More advice and welcomes surely to follow mine, Good Luck, and I'll be looking for yur next post!! and thank you for adopting Gypsie, very wise move on your part, she is an amazing soul… you'll see her characteristics soon enough.

Re: My Gypsy smells! Need Advice

It could be a yeast infection or heat rash especially because you live in a warm climate. Baby wipes are fine I use them for everything I do buy the ones that have nothing in them no perfumes or dyes. If it smells like fritos you might need to go get something from the vet since that is usually a sign of yeast present. If you use a powder make sure you get one designed for babies they dont usually have perfumes or dyes in them. The best thing to do is make sure you keep it dry. I agree with David it could be anal glands or her tail (even though it was removed) could itch. I know it sound crazy but one of the bullies I dog sit for has had her tail removed but she seems to have it stuck in her head that it itches still. If she is itching her (hoo-haa) she could very well have a yeast infection there and has spread it to her belly fold. If thats is the case she would need medicine from the vet.

Re: My Gypsy smells! Need Advice

If she is itching her girlie bits like that it can be vulvitis. A couple months back I found Raven really dragging her girlie bits on the leg of the office chair. I checked to see if she had any thing stuck to her and she seemed ok. She would do it a lot. At first I thought it was her anal glands so off to the vet we went. Well her glands were fine but he expressed the little bit in there all the same. He looked at her girlie bits and told me seeing as they can't really groom themselves down there and they seem to do the lazy pee thing (Raven is very guilty of this) they can get dirt in their folds. He suggested I used something with a bit of acidity and lay her on her back and make sure to clean her well and then dry it after. He sold me an ear cleaner that had a certain enzyme in it to help. He said that enzyme will balance the PH so she doesn't get an infection or grow any yeast. I try to make sure to check her girlie bits to see that there isn't any dirt stuck to her. If your girl is itching her girlie bits then she may very well have a yeast infection. I agree with taking her to the vet to get a good check. Good luck. You should also try to give her some plain yogurt to help with raising her natural immunity levels.

Always in my heart and never far from my thoughts. See you at the rainbow bridge my sweet little Monkey. R.I.P. Raven.

Re: My Gypsy smells! Need Advice

Thanks for all the suggestions! I don't think it's her anal glands...she doesn't scoot her butt on the ground...although she does like her butt scratched!

I think I see our first vet trip in our future!

Does she smell like fritos corn chips?

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There is a part of your heart not alive until a bulldog has entered your life.Nitschke (2004-2011) and Banks (2005-2014) -- My angels Thank you for all the love, fun and teachings